Circumference (from Latin circumferentia, meaning "carrying around") is the linear distance around the edge of a closed curve or circular object.[1] The circumference of a circle is of special importance in geometry and trigonometry. Informally "circumference" may also refer to the edge itself rather than to the length of the edge. Circumference is a special case of perimeter: the perimeter is the length around any closed figure, but conventionally "perimeter" is typically used in reference to a polygon while "circumference" typically refers to a continuously differentiable curve.

Or, equivalently, as the ratio of the circumference to twice the radius. The above formula can be rearranged to solve for the circumference:

The use of the mathematical constant π is ubiquitous in mathematics, engineering, and science. While the constant ratio of circumference to radius also has many uses in mathematics, engineering, and science, it is not formally named. These uses include but are not limited to radians, computer programming, and physical constants.